Heavy Metal War: Beginnings
by Duel Mistress K
Summary: Armada, AU, Based off the Game on Seibertron-dot-com, Heavy Metal War. No good summary, really... Fics taking a whole new direction, currently being rewritten!
1. Fracture

_**A/N:** Hey people. Rewriting time! Yes, hate me. Scorn me. Throw rotten produce at me, I don't care. I've got a new idea for my HMW fanfic, it'll probably take like, two, three mini stories or something like that... not sure at the moment... either way... er... there isn't much new here... so read on._

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**Chapter 1: Fracture of Reality**

Nobody could blame the Autobots and Decepticons for being happy. Well, for the most part, anyways. Unicron had been vaporized, but there was extensive damage to Cybertron. Not to mention the many lives sacrificed to bring him down. It did seem, that for the first time since the Minicons had sent their SOS to Cybertron, there would be peace.

Aboard the Axalon, a lone, snow-white femme stared out into the blankness of space, deep in thought. What would happen to her now? Would she go back to Earth? She couldn't-she was a Transformer now. So then where would she go?

"Windracer." A voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned. The black, gold, and teal visage of a Decepticon met her gaze. "C'mon, Optimus and Galvatron are giving us a 'congratulations men, we destroyed Unicron' speech and I figured you should be there."

Windracer sighed, and looked back. "I'll catch up, thanks for letting me know, Wheeljack."

He didn't buy it, and approached her. "A credit for your thoughts..."

"If that's your way of asking if I'm fine, well, I'm fine." She turned from the glass and started towards the main bridge, white dragonlike wings tucked down over her back like a crude cape, tail hanging low to the ground in dejection. She still felt his optics on her as she retreated.

"You suck at acting, you know that, don't you?"

She grumbled and turned her head enough to give him another glance. "So?"

"So... you really shouldn't keep your issues inside... you oughta talk. It helps."

"And this is coming from the nihilistic Decepticon who nearly tried to kill my two friends to get past his problems." She pointed out blantantly.

Wheeljack winced. "Okay, I deserved that one..."

Windracer snorted, but her bitter expression changed when she again looked out the window into space. "I just don't belong anywhere, that's all. Human soul in a Transformer body..."

The former Autobot approached her, his hands deep in his subspace pockets. "Ah... that story. Well... Since I joined Hotshot back on the Planet to try and catch the Conehead I don't know where I fit in either... Maybe I made a mistake becoming a 'Con..." He delved deep into his own thoughts, reflecting on his past choices. Was he right? What would things be like had he remained an Autobot?

"Nah," Windracer chided, shaking her head slightly in the 'no' fashion. "I'm not a well of wisdom here or anything, but you did what you thought was right, and that's all that's important." She shrugged off the look she got from him, not breaking her attention from the dark scene outside. She watched as the ship attempted re-entry to Cybertron's atmosphere, and could feel the tugs of the metal planet's gravity already.

"You think?"

"Yeah..."

That made him feel a tiny bit better. His lips cracked into a smile as he looked down at Windracer, and she inevitably returned it herself. Something wanted him to edge closer to her, to-

A loud explosion sent the Axalon careening sideways, throwing the two Transformers off their feet and into the thick glass, cracking it. They were too stunned to recover, and as they struggled to get upright, another explosion threw them to the opposite wall. Windracer landed hard first, and Wheeljack hit her next, knocking the air out of her oxygen filters and making her vision fog up. A deep rumble soon replaced the two explosions, but there was no more turbulence; and the two began to regain their composure.

"What the... hell was that..." Windracer coughed, trying to re-fill her oxygen filters with air. She felt herself yanked up by her right arm thanks to Wheeljack, but stumbled. "You think we're under attack?"

"We can't be! Unicron's gone, right?" There was clear worry in Wheeljack's voice as he looked about.

"Then what-"

"Sis! Hey sis! Are you okay!" came a young voice from down the hall. Running their way was Sideswipe, who's armor was dented in various areas.

"Yeah, I'm fine, what the hell happened!"

"I don't know but it feels like we're under atta-GAH!"

Another boom rocked the ship again, and Sideswipe fell on his face. The first two had managed to stay standing, but Sideswipe slid down the now-steep corridor, and knocked them over like a couple of bowling pins. Shouting, cursing, and trying to untangle themselves, they crashed into Scavenger, who had emerged from an adjacent hallway just in time to be knocked over as well. They came to a halt at the very end of the hall, in one very large, squirming dogpile.

"Oww..."

"My legs! I can't feel my legs! Wait, there they are!"

"Sideswipe! Those are MY legs!"

"Oh...!"

Scavenger, dazed, confused, and ruffled, was the first to pull himself from the tangle. "What in Primus' name is going on here!"

Sideswipe, Windracer, and Wheeljack all got up at the same time. "You tell me!" The femme nearly yelled, panicked.

"It's a black hole!" Looking up, the four saw Red Alert running their way. A fourth explosion violently jarred the hallway about, and the medic came stumbling and staggering to join the group of Transformers. Fortunately -or unfortunately- the only mech that broke his fall was Sideswipe. They managed to seperate themselves quickly.

"Back up, Red, _what's_ going on!"

Mussed, but unscathed, he continued. "The explosions are the engines overheating, we're being pulled into a black hole!"

Sideswipe wailed, hugging his knees to his chest, "We're all gonna die!"

This time, the ship hadn't righted itself, and the five Transformers felt it struggling hard against the pull of the Black Hole. "We have to get to the ship bay," Red Alert told them all. "The escape pods are inside."

Scavenger looked upwards, the hall now a very steep slope. It was their only means to the ship dock, too. "And how do you propose we do that!"

"One at a time, if we have to!" Windracer told them. "Transform!" She reverted into her dragon form, opening her wings and taking to the air, but the hall was too narrow, and she couldn't fly correctly. She landed messily amidst the four mechs.

"Or not," Came the wry reply from Sideswipe. "We're doomed!"

"No, I can climb!" Her claws began to glow, the heat element within activating. "Someone get on my back, and someone grab my tail, I can get you up two at a time."

A sickening crack that sent shudders throughout the Axalon said otherwise. "We don't have the time," Wheeljack told her tersely. "This ship's being ripped in two."

"So then what do you want me to do, get out of here myself!" They all gave her the same look. "Oh slag no, if you don't go, I don't go!"

Red Alert held back a growl. "Quit being so stubborn and just go!"

Her dragon form stood its ground and glared with bright optics. "I won't! I ain't leaving you four for dead!"

"GO!" was the unanimous shout from them all, and the femme wavered.

She looked at her adoptive brother, who nodded and started to push her up the slope, and then to Wheeljack, who gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine," he said low enough for her to hear. Windracer sighed in resignation, then, and started to climb quickly up the hall. She didn't dare look back, she didn't want to, and continued on.

Halfway through, she heard another deep rumbling crack, and the ground beneath her began to bow upwards. Optics widening in surprise, she tried to clear the fracture, but it was too late; the ship split, and she was caught in between the two sides. There was a loud shrieking noise as the oxygen contained in the axalon went whistling past her auds, and her energy conversion system converted to Energon consumption instead. The harsh sucking vacuum began to pull her out, and she could hear the startled and plaintive cries of her comerads below as they saw her ripped away from the small chunk of the Autobot flagship that she was clinging onto for dear life.

Yelling in fear and panic, she was spun head over dragonic heels for what seemed like ages. She opened her wings, but the wind was so strong that they were nearly ripped off of her body. Windracer had no choice but to tuck them tightly to her body, to make herself as aerodynamic as possible so that the force of the black hole wouldn't rip her to shreds. She hardly felt something blunt slam into her head and knock her senseless.

_'Don't worry about me, you guys,'_ She thought, remembering the bewildered and panicked expressions on her fellow Transformers' faces. Her optics started to grow dim as stasis lock took hold. _'I'll be fine...'_

Windracer was thrown further down into the violet and black churning vortex that was the black hole, unconscious, unknowing of where she was headed, or even if she would make it through alive.

TBC

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God you all prolly hate me now... considering that I SHOULD Be working on Baby Blues or Chibi For a Week, but here I am, shamelessly plugging my HMW team. 

Hotshot: You know Windy's not gonna liiiiiike that... Neither will the readers, for that matter...

... V.V; yes, I know. But that's what Prowl is for, right Prowl? n.n

E. Prowl: O.o; uhhhhhhh... oh gee, lookit the time /zips out in a dustcloud/

e.e; ...

Hotshot: well, it was nice knowing you. n.n /pats her on the back before strolling off/

Uhh... REVIEW! Review the fic unless you want to see my own TF femme kill me! AND WE DON'T WANT THAT!


	2. Crash

**AN:** _Alright, this is where things start to change from the first version... cameos will come in the second story, this is just how my team is founded... there WILL be various 'con Cameos near the end of this one, though, so keep thy optics out for them... XD_

_Urr... Disclaimers... right... I only own Windracer... oh, and Aurora, Feralbrawn, Kilowatt, Polaris, Roundhouse, Treadbolt, and Wildstrike. Goldrunner(who wont appear just yet, mind you)is the brainchild of myself and Hotshot94... Hasbro owns pretty much everyone else. Various HMW players own their various bots, too._

_Speaking of Kilowatt... anyone remember that fic I started with my human character's cousin, Kay? Well... let's just say in BB, Kay sees her cousin as a TF, and... knowing how she has it in for you-know-who, she asks Red to do the same to her... it's quite funny. Cause she becomes the ultimate stalker.If you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, you will. Anyway, ONWARD!_

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**Chapter 2**

"Holy smegging Primus!" Came a surprised exclamation from inside a smaller, green and gray ship that was only a few miles from the Axalon when it was pulled deep into the black hole. "Aurora do you see that!"

The commander of the small vessel was watching with calculating and almost calm optics, even though in her spark she was worried sick. She knew exactly who was on that ship, and it made her feel all the worse. "I do," she replied grimly. Her olfactory sensor wrinkled a touch as she saw the slender nose of the white Autobot flagship start to bend like a twig, then splinter down the middle, and abruptly snap in two. She cringed visibly, but noticed the small number of tiny escape pods as they raced away from the sinking spaceship. _'Primus, Red, I hope you got out safely...'_ She gasped in surprise as she watched the small pods freeze in mid-flight, and begin to be sucked backwards, down along with the Axalon and into the black hole.

"Well what do we do? Windy's still on there!" The black, bright violet, and turquoise femme sitting at Aurora's left said hastily as she rose from her chair.Her lower arms and legs were covered with thick black fur, along with her chest and the bulky plates of Armor folded in a distinct X-shape over her back. Behind her head waswhat looked like a hood, but was in fact the head of her Beast mode, a wooly mammoth. Extending off of both shoulders were two long tusks, each ending in a deadly point."Not to mention every other Autobot and Decepticon!"

"Settle down Feralbrawn..." A third, green and purple femme chided the younger. She sat back down at her request, but was quite ill at ease. "But she brings up a good point, Aurora. What's our plan?" Kilowatt was trying to keep as cool as she possibly could, even though her cousin and stalk-ee had just been engulfed by a gigantic black hole.

Aurora Borealis sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. Everything in her logic circuits said to go after them... they would need help. She looked over at a gray, white, and black femme who was watching the sinking Axalon with just as much worry, and a bright red one, just as young, stunned that such a symbol of power was crumpling like a wad of tinfoil. "Polaris, Hematite? Are you for or against going after them?"

The two younger femmes exchanged glances, and both nodded in the 'yes' fashion. Hematite had nothing to gain or lose by going, but the same couldn't be said for Polaris. "We gotta go down there, 'Rora..." She spoke aloud. "I know Sideswipe's on that ship and I know he'll need help..." The airplane femme's attatchment to him was almost solely platonic, though; they had known each other since entering the Autobot Academy years agoand flunking out, along with a handful of other young Transformers. They had become gangbangers, vandalizing, swindling, rioting, and generally stirring up any sort of trouble they possibly could without being thrown into prison. The bond the small group of delinquents shared was strong, incredibly so, and Polaris would be slagged if she broke that.

"Well," Hematite began with an indifferent tone, crossing her red-armored arms across her chestplate. "I guess it's unanimous, then..."

"Alright ladies, let's buckle up! We're going for a little ride!"

**xxxxx**

**_Unknown location..._**

"Has the process been completed...?" One deep voice rumbled through the expanses of space. Congregated in a giant, loose circle, were five behemoths. All the size of a planet, or even larger.

Another, near-identical one replied, "Yes... they are right where we want them, brothers..."

The third, smaller only because he was a giant head, gave a nod. He grinned malevolently, and his planet-crushing fangs were revealed. "Excellent... knowing those foolish Transformers they will fight until they cannot fight any longer... and then, that is when we strike. When they are at their most vulnerable, when they cannot defend..."

"Indeed..." The oldest, deepest voiced one agreed. "The Transformers defeated us all, but with this plan... there will be no escape. All we must do is bide our time, and they will kill themselves... leaving us to dominate this universe as it should have been!"

**xxxxx**

The first thing that went through Red Alert's mind, was pain. The excruciating, blinding pain in his right temple. The next thing that came to his attention was that his legs were pinned under a massive sheet of the Axalon's outer armor. Third, he was _outside_ the Axalon. Fourth...

He had NO idea where he was.

The medic propped his upper body up using his arms, and looked around. It was a dusty wasteland, strewn with metallic trees, crashed ships, giant craters, and just a whole lot of junk. _'This place has seen some battles...'_ He thought, looking around again. It was then that the memories of just a few moments prior came rushing back, and he jolted fully awake. Where was Windracer? Had the others survived? What caused that black hole to open in the first place? Where _were_ they?

Red twisted around and began to try and pry the heavy metal off his legs, grunting with the effort until a sound caused him to stop. It sounded almost like... a groan of pain? Spinning back around, he began to survey the wreckage with his cracked and damaged visor, but there was nothing. He gritted his teeth and began to work at the metal pinning him down, feeling a stabbing pain in his left leg as he did, and soon managed to slide himself out from underneath it. The heavy sheet of metal crashed back to the ground when he released it, kicking up a small tuft of dust when he did. He stood slowly, stumbling a bit as he did. His legs ached, but nowhere nearly as bad as his head did. Reaching up with his good hand, he ran his fingertips over his visor, to find a deep crack running down the left side. Circ fluid trickled from a small abrasion on his forehead underneath his helmet, but aside from that and his body aches, he realized, he was fine.

Another groan from nearby caused the medic to snap aware, and he quickly spun around to look. Now that he was standing and had a better view, he caught sight of a half-conscious black form a good twenty feet away who was starting to try and pull himself to his knees. "Wheeljack!" Red shouted, hurrying forward gingerly, making sure he didn't overexert his already damaged systems. "Are you alright?"

The mech in question gave another groan as he finally got to his knees, placing a hand to his helmeted head groggily. "What... happened...?"

"The ship crashed, the black hole, remember?"

Wheeljack's optics snapped open wide as he went into panic mode. "Windracer! Where did she crash! We have to find her, she could be half-dead, or..."

"I think she's fine..." Red trailed off slowly, his train of focus far beyond the downed Decepticon. "Look."

He turned his head as best as he could manage, and saw a slender and white prone form a distance away. Exchanging glances, the two rushed over in a cloud of fine dust, reaching the Transformer femme's side within moments. One wing had been sheared off at the joint, circ fluid oozing its way out of the small and delicate fuel lines within, while the other was crumpled oddly underneath her. Her tail was bent badly near the tip, just before the jagged spade. All over her blue, gray, and white frame were dents and dings, abraisions, and even some lacerations to the unarmored synthflesh of her upper arms, thighs, midriff, and face. The medic standing over her took to one knee, carefully turning her over onto her back.

"Red? is... is she..." Wheeljack's apparent worry got the Autobot to give an almost unnoticeable grin as he activated the scanner within his visor, to sense if her spark was still functional or not.

It was. "Unconscious, badly damaged, but alive. She's a slagging lucky girl, I'd say... But she needs repairs, urgently."

"And where the Pit are we going to find a medical facility?" The Ex-Bot looked about, teal optics scanning the desolate surroundings. He stopped for a moment, seeing only a few miles away something that looked like... a base? Distorted by the heat, buthe could clearly pick out the dark gray buildings amidst the optical illusion."Nevermind..."

Red Alert had seen it, too. Thinking for just a brief moment, he Transformed, hoping to Primus that his transformation circuits hadn't been damaged, and then pulled around to Wheeljack. He opened his back trunk hatch, and ordered, "Load her in. It doesn't seem to be that long of a drive."

"What about the others? Are we going to leave them here?" Wheeljack heard himself asking as he carefully guided the unconscious femme into Red's vehicle form. He hated to admit it, but he was starting to feel more like an Autobot again. Ever since Prime and Galvatron had issued that temporary treaty... Perhaps even earlier, during Hotshot's invasion of the Decepticon base. There were no orders, no nothing, and he had taken up a fight along side his mortal enemy. Deep in the back of his processor, he was debating re-joining the "good guys" once again... but would they take him?

"We'll come back for them," Red answered tersely as Wheeljack finished loading Windracer up with care. "She needs repairs the most urgently."

Agreeing, Wheeljack transformed and started his engine, rejoicing in the fact that his vehicle mode still functioned, and then the two took off towards the mystery base.

xxxxxxx

"Ahh! Who the slag tought you how to DRIVE!"

"Pull up, PULL UP! We're going to CRASH!"

"Dont you think I KNOW THAT!" Feralbrawn threw her weight into the ship's controls, rearing back as she pulled up on the steering mechanism. At the moment, the Gorby-2 was in a steep dive from where they had exited the wormhole, and was nearing the ground at a sickening speed. "Brace yourselves! It's going to be close!"

The woolly mammoth femme pulled back harder, gritting her teeth as she did. _'Come on you pile of scrap, respond!'_ Slowly, she could feel the ship beginning to level out, but it was still diving steeply towards the dusty ground. Sensitive alarms began to blare, warning the crew of the iminent and probably fatal impact. The white fluroscent lights switched over to an angry red as well. Pulling as hard as she could and hoping that the steering mechanism wouldn't snap from the strain, she grinned as Gorby-2 began to pull out of the dive. Slamming a button nearby, landing gear extended from underneath the ship and she continued to pull back on the wheel, now tipping the nose upwards.

"We're still moving to fast! We have to decelerate!" Hematite managed to cry over the sirens.

"No time! Hold on!" The controls almost ripped themselves away from the femme's hands but she maintained her grip, guiding the sensetive controls down to the ground. What was previously hundreds of feet below them began to pass underneath the main monitor in a blur, growing closer and closer with each second.

Kilowatt was looking at the radar with concern. "Impact in three... two... one...!"

Gorby-2's landing gear touched the ground first, jarring the Autobot femmes about violently as it did so. They couldn't take the strain, however, and the wheels quickly snapped off their axles, sending the ship sliding on its left side along the ground. The left wing went flying off as well, and soon the back of the machine began to swing around, skidding sideways.

"Activate the reverse thrusters! We're starting into a spin!" Aurora called out in her commander's voice, gripping the arm rests of her seat with clenched hands.

"Thrusters activated!" Hematite responded, pushing two buttons to do so. Slowly, continuing its seemingly endless advance along the ground, they felt the ship begin to decelerate, and the half spin it had been put into started to even out. "We're slowing down!"

Tense seconds later, a small rock formation raced towards the Gorby-2 to greet them, snagging the underside of the ship and halting it violently. Feralbrawn was slammed into the control panel before her, while Hematite and Polaris were thrown into the floor. Despite that, the now dilapidated fighter ship had come to a halt on this strange and new world.

"Heh heh... that was fun?"

**xxxxxx**

It had only been a few minutes' drive, and soon both Wheeljack and Red Alert reached the apparently abandoned base. The black and gold Transformer reverted to his humanoid mode,removing the damaged femme from the other's back hatch, allowing him to Transform back into robot mode himself. "So now what do we do?" came the question.

Red paused to consider. "You hang back with Windracer. I'm going to secure the area, make sure that this base really IS abandoned..."

"It's a big base, though..."

"Most of these, no matter the world they're in, have security cameras. If I can find the control room, power them up, and sweep the base, it'll save us some time..."

The now borderline Autobot nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan."

Red Alert cast one cautious look around before turning to the first available entrance, and strong-armed the door wide open. He looked back at Wheeljack, took in a deep breath, and entered the dark and dusty base.

_'Here's to hoping nobody's home...'_

TBC

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_**AN:** Yes, I rushed the end. Yes, I'll probably tweak it. Yes, I'm sorry I suck... No, I dont have any control over that. Well, I do, it's called "practice", I suppose... but annnnyway... Sorry its a pseudo-cliffie. Next chap: "Death, Life, and Reformation!" ... we get to meet Wildstrike and Treadbolt, and hopefully Goldrunner! YAAAAY!_

_and PS: ... review your little hearts out! xD It makes me feel special when I get them...Call me a review whore, I dont care. XDD_


	3. Recoil

_AN: ... hurray! or Boo, depending on your viewpoint, but I digress. ANNYWAY... I don't know where this is going to go. I just have a general idea, but I'm hoping it'll follow at least that much. xD_

_-insert inert disclaimer here-_

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**Chapter 3**

It was quiet inside the abandoned base... too quiet. Red Alert padded along as quietly as he could manage, cringing visibly every time he heard the loud clank of metal on metal. His damaged visor scanned through the darkness with ease, despite it being shorted out on the left side which left him partially sightless. The medic rounded the nearest corner, gun-arm raised defensively just incase, and when he realized that the coast was clear, he continued on, looking back every few moments, just to make sure he wasn't being followed. Red kicked up the fine film of dust that blanketed the ground as he crept along, stifling a cough as it aggrivated his oxygen filters, but continued on silently. He didn't know where he was going, but had a gut feeling it was the correct path. Looking at a sign on one of the walls, he realized it was in an archaic form of Cybertronian... the kind that hadn't been used since the first Great War.

"Control Center." ... Bingo. Red Alert followed the arrow that had been engraved right beside the words, and at the end of the dark hallway, he found an open door.

The room was emitting a pale glow from within.When he looked inside, he noticed it was dark save for one sole computer monitor, that flickered and glowed a light blue. He strode over to it with care, minding the discared scrap metal that littered the floor, and stooped down to read what was on it. At a glance he couldn't decipher the old Cybertronian, so he looked about for the main control interface. It took him only a moment to find it, and he quickly activated the power generator, lights, and security system throughout the entire base. A small wall of monitors flickered on to his right, just above that first computer screen, scanning the base for activity. The place was completely abandoned, and he was pleased to notice there was a medical bay as well. _'Looks like we're in the clear...'_ He noted mentally before touching his comlink.

"Wheeljack, this is Red, over."

Outside, the ex-Bot had placed Windracer up against the nearest wall, out of the blaring sun, and had taken a seat beside her. He'd been in reflective mode when the prompt had jarred him quickly to full awareness. "'Jack here, whats your status?"

"It's a ghost town in here. Not a single living thing besides us, and there's a good-sized medical bay too."

"...Permission to enter?"

Red Alert chuckled over the line. "I'm not your commander, we're not even of the same affiliation anymore.You don't need to ask me that. But yes, get inside quickly. We don't know what else is running around out here."

Wheeljack almost defended himself, explaining that it was only a habit and he meant nothing of it, but kept silent and gathered the femme into his arms with care. He stood, turned to the main door, and carefully stepped inside.

**xxxxxx**

**Gorby II's Cabin**

"Oww... I think I've got whiplash..."

"You and me both, Po," Kilowatt agreed as she rubbed the back of her gray-armored neck, wincing a touch as she did.

"Hey, at least we survived..." Feralbrawn added as she stood from her seat at the pilot controls. "Right, Hema?"

Hematite was absolutely fine, save a few dents, and she nodded absently. "Right... now where the pit are we?"

Aurora had been looking out the main viewport, and had assessed that this was most definitely not Cybertron... or maybe it was? She scratched her chin in thought, then donned her commander voice again. "We'll figure that out once we get outside the ship. Primus knows it'll cave at any moment." A groan from the Gorby-2's framework punctuated the statement. "Salvage all the weapons you can, stow them in subspace if necessary, and let's clear out. We don't have much time and we still need to find the others."

The five female Autobots scurried about carefully, hoping that a misstep wouldn't cause the entire spaceship to collapse inward on them. They snagged tracking devices, comlinks, weapons, and munitions clips, shoving them into their subspace pockets for transport, and were soon on their way out of the dilapidated spacecraft.

Feralbrawn was the first to speak once they were out of harm's way. "Wow... what a wasteland..."

"You're telling me," Kilowatt responded, nudging a stray rock with one of her feet. "But where the Pit did the others go down?"

Aurora scanned the heat-warped surroundings with narrowed optics, looking for the signs of Axalon's remains. She soon noticed a slowly rising plume of dusty gray smoke to her far right, and pointed. "There. We need to over there now and start searching for survivors, so move out!"

The five Autobots quickly shifted into their alternate forms: Aurora, into a red, white, and blue jet; Polaris into a gray and black stealth bomber; Kilowatt into her dark green pickup truck mode; Hematite into a bright-red car, and Feralbrawn into her woolly mammoth beast form.

The first four tore off in a flurry of dust, leaving Feral coughing as she galloped behind them. "Hey! Wait for me!" She'd never been a good runner, even as a quadruped, and tried desperately to catch up. Unfortunately, the sounds of their engines and motors drowned her out, and the gap between them increased dramatically until they were gone. "_Guyyyyyyyyyyys_!"

**xxxxxx**

**Desert, Location 1**

A bright orange and red Jeep bounded quickly along the rocky terrain, the shocks absorbing every bump and jolt with ease. A young but deep, masculine voice hummed absently as the vehicle approached the area where he'd seen the two foreign ships crash. As the jeep passed over a small, jagged ridge, it took note of a cluster of Transformers that were hastily making their way to a second crash site.

_'Hmm. Must be surivors of that first ship,'_ he thought as he finally noticed the dilapidated Gorby-2. Zooming in on the lead 'bot, he noticed the jet's wings were adorned with the bright red Autobot emblem, and inwardly he grinned. _'And Autobots, too. Swell!'_

The jeep took his gear out of park and accelerated quickly, bounding down the incline and onto the flat desert before him, and started his approach to the small Autobot squad ahead.

**xxxxxx**

**Abandoned Base, Medical Bay**

The door on one of the many dust-laced CR chambers slid shut, enclosing the badly wounded Windracer within. Red Alert stood back and made sure it was working, sighing with finality when he noted it was."Well, she'll be in there for a few hours at least, and she's out of danger."

Wheeljack was silent, but then proceeded to look around his surroundings. "We need to go back, you know. We need to check for survivors."

The medic nodded sagely in reply, surpressing his natural urge to be wary of the ex-Autobot for the time being. "Yes, we do. I just hope there _are_ survivors..." He added darkly, visor dimmed in apprehension.

Ironically, 'Jack tried to be positive. "We were all on one of the outside corridors closest to the ship's exterior, and we survived... I'm sure the others were protected by the hull when we went down."

"...Or they were crushed alive."

**xxxxxx**

**Desert, Location 2**

Feralbrawn's broad feet thundered across the cracked and dry ground, slowed, and then finally stopped. A mixture of heatstroke and exhaustion caused the black-furred mammoth to collapse to her knees and eventually onto her stomach. Prehistoric elephants covered in thick insulatingfur weren't meant for desert life, obviously, and Feral was regretting having ever chosen this accursed form in the first place. "Augh... can't... move..." Maybe if she went into recharge for a few minutes...

A rumbling jeep engine caused the ground underneath her to vibrate slightly, and her animal eyes snapped back open. Was that the others, coming back? No, it didn't sound familiar...

She watched out of the corner of her eye as a jeep rolled quickly in her direction over the cracked earth. Unfortunately, Feral wasn't in any shape to fight and could only watch as it came to an abrupt halt before her.

_'Uh oh...'_

**xxxxxx**

**Unknown Coordinates...**

The strangely adorned throne room was dim with the exception of several large computer monitors. A handful of Transformers were examining the data as it was generated, while others were gathered around a large throne. Seated in the elaborate chair was a large, purple-clad mech with three horns rising from his helmet, and wings bent across his back.

An almost equally large mech spoke first, his voice heavy and dark. "Well, it looks like there's been another distortion today... It would explain all the freak accidents here at HQ."

"More newcomers?" the one that obviously came off as their leader questioned.

"It appears so," A navy blue seeker responded. His face was covered with a mask, and the only things exposed were his optics that quickly scanned the newly generated computer map. "There are two major crash sites that we can discern, both of which are in no-man's land. I'm unable to tell wether or not there are any others scattered about at this time."

"Great," the first Transformer replied, grinning under his own facemask. He flexed his arms in anticipation. "Well, you heard Naval Strike, G.P, what say we go on a little..." He paused. "...hunting trip?"

'G.P.' gave a malevolent smirk to the tan-brown tankbot. "An excelent suggestion, Gore. Get a crew together. Tell them that anything wearing the emblem of the Decepticons shall be recovered and sent to the medical ward if neccessary."

Gore's grin didn't part from his face. "And the 'reds'?"

Galvatron Prime rose from his throne and gave a dark chuckle. "Obliterate them."

_**TBC**_

* * *

_Le Gasp! I ACTUALLY UPDATED THIS MOFO! O.O! How gravy is that? Took me a good long time, and for all that waiting I can tell this falls headfirst into the craptacular category, but I needed to get something out in order to try and coax those creative juices into flowing... Not working, I can tell. v.v; For one chapter, not much happened... it's like watching paint dry, I swear. How the poo does Centbot do it? T.T' :envies Cent's mad writing skillz:_

_Anyhoo, coming up... What will become of Feralbrawn? Was anyone else lucky enough to survive the Axalon's crash? How will the Decepticons throw a monkey wrench into this operation! Find out, next time!_

_And review! Kthxbai. XD_


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